Article dispensing mechanism



June24, 1969 G. w. MILNE ETAL 3,451,591

ARTICLE DISPENSING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 24, 1967 Sheet of 2 |T-| 1: /Z HI Hi; Mi 69 JT 1 3 Z2 20 I l /Z 7 .l g 4 C T N a=- 3 ENfm/RZT 131-7 scHL/urz JR.

Jurie24,1969 WMLNE Em 3,451,591

ARTICLE DISPENS ING MECHANI SM Filed Aug. 24, 1967 n Sheet 3 of 2 United States Patent 3,451,591 ARTICLE DISPENSING MECHANISM George W. Milne, Kansas City, and Donald F. Schultz,

Jr., Lees Summit, Mo., assignors to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 24, 1967, Ser. No. 663,149 Int. Cl. B65g 59/06; B65h 3/32 U.S. Cl. 221-277 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A continuously rotating, peripherally stepped wheel is provided with oblique slots at the steps for receiving articles stacked in a stationary feed. Each step strips an article from the stack as it moves past the feed, and the stripped article is urged to the bottom of the associated slot by a camming action between the feed and the oblique wall of the slot.

Background of the invention In many production applications such as assembly machines, articles are sequentially dispensed from a stationary feed mechanism, in which the articles are serially stacked, to an adjacent transfer wheel having peripherally spaced, article receiving slots. The articles are arranged for successive engagement with the wheel periphery and are dispensed as each slot comes into registration with the outlet of the feed. In order to seat the dispensed article firmly Within the slot, a spring-loaded push rod mechanism in the feed urges the dispensed article against a spring detent affixed to the slot wall to cam the article to the bottom of the slot.

In order to accomplish this dispensing operation, each slot in the wheel is successively indexed into registration with the outlet of the feed mechanism and is thereafter held stationary in the indexed position for a time necessary for the dispensed article to be transferred from the feed to the bottom of the slot. This necessity of stopping the wheel for a predetermined time to receive each article makes the overall transfer operation relatively timeconsuming and inefiicient.

Summary of the invention This disadvantage is eliminated with the use of a continually rotating article transfer mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention. In an illustrative embodiment arranged for use with elongated cylindrical articles, the articles are successively received by a peripherally stepped stripping wheel. A plurality of elongated, article receiving slots individually extend obliquely into the wheel from each step. The articles are stacked in a direction perpendicular to their length between a pair of guide plates for successive engagement with the periphery of the wheel at a fixed point around the axis of the wheel. At least one of the guide plates extends radially into the wheel through a circumferential slot disposed continually around the wheel periphery to form a camming projection. As the wheel rotates, the stepped opening in each of the oblique slots successively moves past the guide plates and intercepts the article then in engagement with the periphery. The continued rotation causes the trailing wall of the oblique slot to direct the intercepted article against the stationary projection to cam the intercepted article to the bottom of the slot.

Brief description of the drawing The nature of the invention and its advantages will appear more fully from the following detailed description ice when taken in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation, partially cut away, of an article-transfer mechanism constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section of an article to be transferred by the mechanism of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1 illustrating the relationship between an oblique article receiving slot and a guiding circumferential slot in the article receiving portion of the mechanism of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1 illustrating details of the article feeding portion of the mechanism of FIG. 1; and

FIGS. SA-SD are fragmentary front elevations of the feed mechanism of FIG. 1, taken as successively later points in time to illustrate the changing relative orientations of the article feeding and article receiving portions.

Detailed description Referring in more detail to the drawing, FIG. 1 depicts one form of dispensing mechanism 11 constructed in accordance with the invention. The mechanism 11 includes (a) an article receiving wheel 12 keyed to a shaft 13 driven by a motor 14 (FIG. 4) for rotation about a longitudinal axis 15, and (b) a stationary feed chute 16 vertically aligned with the axis 15 for successively supplying a plurality of elongated, generally cylindrical articles 17-17 of outside diameter D to the wheel. In the specific example illustrated, the articles comprise dumbbell shaped, metallic mounting pins used in the manufacture of semiconductor diodes.

As shown best in FIG. 1, the periphery of the wheel 12 includes a plurality of equally spaced, relatively wide regions 18-18 of gradually decreasing radius respectively separated by a corresponding plurality of relatively narrow regions 19-19 of rapidly increasing radius. The latter regions define a series of steps 20-20 on the wheel periphery. The radial height B of each step is made essentially equal to the outside diameter D of the articles 17. Each of a plurality of elongated first slots 21-21 extends obliquely from a step 20 into the interior of the wheel in a direction generally perpendicular to the plane of the step. The planes of the slots 21 are disposed parallel to the axis 15. Each slot 21 is defined by a pair of opposed, generally parallel Walls 22-22 which respectively terminate at their outer ends on the opposite sides of the peripheral step 20.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the periphery of the wheel is also provided with a second circumferential slot 24, of width C, extending completely around a central plane of the wheel and intersecting each of the oblique slots 21. The radial depth of the circumferential slot 24 is illustratively greater than the depth of the oblique slots.

The chute 16 (FIG. 1) illustratively includes a pair of elongated, generally parallel guide Plates 26-26 of thickness K (FIG. 4). The plates 26 are held at a transverse spacing T within a suitable mounting plate 27. A plurality of the articles 17-17 are vertically stacked, in a direction perpendicular to their length, between the guide plates 26 for transfer to individual ones of the oblique slots 21 in the wheel 12 in the manner described below. Each of the articles 17 has a reduced central portion 28 (FIG. 2) of diameter W smaller than the width T of the guide plates, and a length S larger than the thickness K of the guide plates, so that the articles may be captivated between the plates 26 (FIG. 1).

The guide plates 26 are provided with a pair of downwardly extending projections 29-29 which are vertically aligned with the circumferential slot 24 and extend radially therethrough into the Wheel 12. The feeding device 16 is vertically positioned, by means of a suitable bracket 30 (FIG. 4), above the wheel 12 in such a manner that when an oblique slot is in registration with the projections 29 (as in FIG. 5C), a pair of bottom surfaces 3131 of the projections 29 are radially spaced from the bottom of the oblique slots 21 by a distance E that is only slightly greater than the outer diameter of the articles 17.

In the arrangement of FIG. 1, the articles 17 are urged downwardly between the guide plates 26 by gravitational action, although any other suitable means, spring-loaded or otherwise, may be employed. In the position shown in the figure, a lowermost one 32 of the articles 17 is in engagement with a portion of the periphery near the center of one of the relatively wide regions 18.

In the operation of the mechanism 11 of FIGS. 1-4, it will be assumed that the motor drives the wheel 12 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1, past the stacked articles 17 on the stationary chute 16. The manner of transferring the lowermost, periphery-engaging article 32 from the chute 16 to an oblique slot 21 in the wheel 12 is shown in FIGS. 5ASD, which depict the relative positions of the Wheel periphery and the chute at successively later points in time. In FIG. 5A, the wheel 12 has rotated from the position shown in FIG. 1 so that an interface 33 between the depicted peripheral region 18 and the smaller radius portion of the adjacent step 20 is aligned with the stacked articles 17 between the guide plates 26. In this position, the stepped opening in the incoming oblique slot 21 has not yet engaged the article 32 on the wheel periphery.

At the point of time shown in FIG. 5B, the stepped opening of the slot 21 is aligned with the lowermost article 32 and, because the radial height of the step 20 is equal to the outer diameter of the article, the larger radius portion 22 of the slot 21 effectively intercepts the lowermost article 32 and permits a top surface 34 of the larger-radius portion of the step to engage the bottom of the next succeeding article in the stack. In this position, the slot 21 intersects the left guide plate 26.

In FIG. SC, the step 20 has just advanced past the article stack. During such advance, the oblique left wall 22 of the slot 21 continually urges the intercepted article 32 against the projection 29 of the vertically disposed right guide plate 26 to effect a camming action that tends to continually propel the stripped article 32 toward the bottom of the slot.

At the point in time shown in FIG. 5D, the stripped article has been cammed to the bottom of the slot by the process described in connection with FIG. 5C. Since the radial spacing E (FIG. 5C) between the guide plate projections and the bottom of the oblique slot 21 (FIG. 5D) is only slight greater than the diameter of the article 32, the cammed article is constrained in this position by the bottom surface 31 of the right projection 29. At this time, the stripped article has been fully transferred from the device 16 to the wheel 12. The above-mentioned sequence of FIGS. 5A-5D may be repeated for each of the remaining articles on the stack until each successive slot 21 on the wheel has received an article.

After receiving an article, each slot 21 proceeds clockwise in a downward arcuate path around the axis (FIG. 1). A stationary retaining segment 35 may be provided in the lower right quadrant around the axis 15 for maintaining the article at the bottom of the slot as the latter is inverted from its position at the top of the figure. Accordingly, the segment 35 extends radially inward through the circumferential slot 24 to a depth sufiicient to restrain significant outward movement of the article in the slot. The transferred articles may be subjected to further operations as they proceed around the axis 15, and the processed articles may exit from the wheel through a second chute 36 disposed at the wheel periphery at a location below the axis 15.

It is to be understood that the above-described embodiment is merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Numerous other modifications will now suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. For example, articles having non-circular cross sections may also be transferred in the manner described. Moreover, the operation of the stripping mechanism does not necessarily require relative rotational motion but may be instrumented by a rectilinear motion, as between a flat, slotted stripping surface and the feeding device. Such modifications may obviously be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for individually feeding a plurality of elongated articles onto the periphery of a wheel, which comprises:

a first portion on the wheel periphery having a plurality of spaced, relatively long regions of gradually decreasing radius separated by a corresponding plurality of spaced, relatively short regions of rapidly increasing radius, and a plurality of elongated article receiving slots whose axes extend rearwardly and inwardly from each short region of the periphery, each slot having forward and rearward edges that respectively terminate at relatively small and relatively large radius portions of the short region;

a second portion of the wheel periphery having a continuous circumferential slot extending radially inward from the periphery to intercept the articlereceiving slots;

an article feeding device including a pair of parallel elongated guide plates disposed in transversely spaced relation for movably stacking the articles in a direction perpendicular to their length;

means for positioning the feeding device relative to the Wheel to extend at least a forward one of the guide plates radially through the circumferential slot with the innermost stacked article engaging the periphery of the wheel in radial alignment with the steps; and

'means for rotating the wheel about its axis at constant speed in the forward direction to cause each step to strip the lowermost article from the wheel and for causing a camming action between the rearward edge associated with the slot and the extended forward one of the guide plates to propel the stripped lowermost article to the bottom of the associated slot.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein each oblique slot extends longitudinally from the wheel periphery in a direction generally perpendicular to the plane of the associated slot.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the articles are circular cylinders having a first diameter, and the height of each step is made substantially equal to the first diameter.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the articles are circular cylinders each having outer portions of a first diameter and a central portion of a second diameter less than the first diameter, and the guide plate spacing is made greater than the second diameter but smaller than the first diameter for captivating the cylinders.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the positioning means locates the guide plates so that the latter extend through the circumferential slot for a radial depth that is less, by a predetermined distance, than the radial depth of the oblique slots.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the articles are circular cylinders having a first diameter, and the predetermined distance is made slightly greater than the first diameter.

7. An article transfer mechanism, which comprises:

a rotatable stripping wheel having a plurality of circumferentially spaced, elongated peripheral slots whose axes respectively extend generally rearwardly and inwardly from the periphery, the periphery of the'wheel sloping downwardly in the rearward direction from the rearward edge of each slot to the forward edge of the next succeeding slot to define a step between the forward and rearward edges of each slot; means for stacking a plurality of the articles for successive radial engagement with the periphery of the wheel at a fixed point around the axis of the wheel to radially align the lowermost article with the steps;

means for rotating the wheel about its axis at constant speed and in the forward direction to cause each successive step to strip the lowermost article from the wheel periphery and to engage the bottom surface of the next higher article as the wheel moves past the fixed point; and

means carried by the stacking means in the path of rotation of the wheel and cooperative with each successive rearward edge for camming each stripped lowermost article to the bottom of the associated slot.

8. A mechanism as defined in claim 7, in which the height of the outward step corresponds to a dimension of the article in the direction parallel to the stack.

9. In an apparatus for dispensing articles:

a vertical chute comprising a first guide plate and a spaced, parallel second guide plate for receiving a stack of articles with sections laterally extending from between the plates; first dispensing wheel member having spaced slots, each of said slots being of sufiicient width to receive one of the laterally extending sections of the articles, each slot having forward and rearward walls extending obliquely into the wheel, said first wheel member having peripheral arcuate sections of decreasing radii extending between each rearward wall and the next succeeding forward wall, said arcuate sections overlying the lower ends of said guide plates for engaging and supporting a laterally extending section of the lowermost article; and means for rotating said first wheel member to advance each rearward wall into engagement with each succeeding lowermost article to cam each succeeding article along the second guide plate and into each succeeding oblique slot while the associated arcuate section engages the next article to support the stack of articles. 10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, further comprising a second dispensing Wheel member mounted on and identical with the first wheel member and having slots laterally aligned with the slots in the first wheel member, said wheel members being spaced apart to subtend the lower ends of said guide plates.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 786,835 4/1905 Perkins 221-299 X 923,552 6/1909 Mill 221-277 X 2,355,311 8/1944 Linkner 221-277 X 2,564,139 8/1951 Ward et al. 221-299 X 2,728,092 12/1955 Poupitch 221-299 X 2,777,477 1/ 1957 Zimmerman 140-71 3,038,637 6/ 1962 Zakrzewski et a1. 221-299 X 2,597,900 5/1952 Paynter et al. 221-277 X SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner. 

